Tennessee handed a lump of coal by selection committee with a brutal draw in NCAA Tournament
The Vols have major work to do to reach their sixth straight Super Regional.
The Tennessee Volunteers are back in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive year. But boy, do the Vols have some work to do in order to reach the program’s sixth straight Super Regional.
The NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed in full on Monday afternoon, and the Vols checked in as a 2 seed in the Chapel Hill regional. The Tar Heels were given a national 5 seed by the selection committee.
The Vols’ first opponent? An East Carolina team that just won the American conference tournament.
Tennessee baseball gets a tough draw with UNC and East Carolina
Yes, the Vols were always going to get a 2 seed. That much was certain based on the projections and the Vols’ resume.
But they certainly did not get paired with Southern Miss like D1 Baseball had been projecting for days. Instead, they got the tougher draw that Baseball America had projected.
The Tar Heels have been excellent this season, going 45-11-1 on the way to second place in the ACC behind national 2 seed Georgia Tech. That’s a tough place to land. But East Carolina is a good program filled with plenty of talent that’s competing in regionals year after year. And Tennessee is catching them as they’re on a heater, winners of seven of their last eight games entering the tournament.
The draw is what it is, and the Vols are going to have to find a way to play their absolute best baseball. Because anything less won’t be enough to get out of Chapel Hill with their season alive.